A slimmed-down Luka Doncic said he will play faster next season after committing to the Los Angeles Lakers for the next three years.
But he also singled out his new Lakers teammate who could make a huge impact on his game.
“I think [I will play defense] way better,” Doncic told reporters after signing a three-year, $165 million extension with the Lakers. “You got Marcus, so he’s going to teach me some things. But that’s going to help a lot.”
Doncic was referring to former NBA Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart, whom he personally recruited to join him in his championship pursuit with the Lakers.
Getty Marcus Smart will help Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic improve on defense.
“To build a team to win the championship,” said Doncic on why he helped the Lakers recruit Smart and former No. 1 pick Deandre Ayton. “I think we had two great, great guys. I played against them before, never with them. So now I’m happy they are on my team.”
Smart said Doncic personally recruiting him meant a lot to him, which is one of the reasons why he chose the Lakers after he reached a buyout with the rebuilding Washington Wizards.
“When you get a guy like Luka calling, referencing, checking on you, trying to see where you at to see if you want to come and join something special that he’s trying to cook up over here,” Smart told reporters during his introductory press conference. “And for him to say that he can really use my help, that meant a lot.”
Luka’s Atrocious Defense Bound to Improve
Doncic was the Lakers’ weakest link on defense in their playoff demise last season.
Mike Jagacki of LockdownHoops.com exposed Doncic’s atrocious defense in the Lakers’ Game 5 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Jagacki said it was “one of the worst defensive performances” he’d ever watched “in a must-win playoff game.”
The basketball analyst pointed out that Timberwolves stars Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle hunted Dončić down because “Luka just has such a wide base and poor movement fundamentals on defense.”
It was the same problem the Dallas Mavericks had when they lost to the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals last year, which prompted Harrison to trade him for Anthony Davis, an All-Defensive center, albeit six years older than Dončić.
“Lakers can’t even hide Luka in the zone. Gets blown by on the wing, poor footwork – wide base, lung steps, no explosive slide, no positive pelvic angle to generate lateral movement. Looking around for his help – the true sign of a bad defender,” Jagacki wrote on X.
A lot of it was attributed to Doncic’s poor conditioning, which contributed to the Mavericks’ decision to shockingly trade him to the Lakers midway through last season.
The Secret Behind Body Transformation
Doncic addressed his conditioning this offseason, fueled by the criticisms on his way out of Dallas.
In a magazine cover interview for Men’s Health, Doncic revealed that he’s doing 16 hours of intermittent fasting six days a week since the season ended.
“This offseason, every day but Sunday, Doncic fasts from 8:30 PM to 12 noon the following day. That’s 16 hours with nary a calorie, with the first workout of each day performed at the end of the fasting window.”
As part of his new diet, Doncic consumes only a gluten-free, low-sugar diet, including “at least 250 grams of protein and one almond milk–fueled shake a day.”
He also incorporated plant-based foods into his new diet.
Doncic took a month off playing basketball, which he admitted was hard in the beginning, to give his mind and body the much-needed time to recover.
His offseason regimen will continue into the season, Doncic said, which leads him to believe he will be much better than the out-of-shape version of himself who averaged 28.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists in 28 games for the Lakers last season.
“I would just say a little bit of everything,” Doncic said on what a skinny version of himself will bring to the Lakers next season. “Obviously, a little bit faster. But I don’t know, just trying to help the team condition-wise. Obviously, playing a lot of minutes, a lot of games, so I think that’s going to be the best for me.”
At the very least, Doncic will never be as slow-footed and as atrocious as he was in the playoffs last season with his much-improved conditioning.
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